Carlos Lee doubled and scored in the 10th inning, extending his hitting streak to a franchise-record 28 games -- the longest in the majors this year -- and helping the Chicago White Sox beat the Florida Marlins 7-5 on Tuesday night.
"My teammates came up big," Lee said. "They gave me another shot and I got the hit. I just told myself to see the good pitches, relax and don't blow it."
PHOTO: AP
Timo Perez hit a tying, two-run homer in the ninth off closer Armando Benitez, who blew his second save in 26 chances. Benitez also gave up a three-run homer to Frank Thomas in the eighth.
Joe Crede led off the ninth with a double, and Perez followed with his second homer to tie it at 5-5.
After Lee's one-out double in the 10th, the Marlins intentionally walked pinch-hitter Paul Konerko. Perez later drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Reliever Nate Bump walked Miguel Olivo, scoring Lee and giving the White Sox the go-ahead run.
Florida starter A.J.Burnett allowed one hit in six scoreless innings.
"I'm still a little inconsistent out there," he said after missing out on his first victory since August 2002. "The more I get out there, the better I'll be."
Damaso Marte (2-2) pitched a perfect ninth for the win, and Shingo Takatsu pitched the 10th for his second save in as many chances. Toby Borland (1-1) allowed two runs while getting just two outs.
Braves 3, Royals 2
In Atlanta, Andruw Jones scored the winning run on a wild pitch by Jason Grimsley in the eighth inning, helping the Braves rally past the Royals.
Chipper Jones made his first start at third base since Oct. 21, 2001, when the Braves lost to Arizona in Game 5 of the NL championship series. An everyday third baseman from 1995-01, he went 1-for-4 and made two routine plays in the field.
Atlanta's comeback ruined a fine performance by Dennys Reyes, who took a 2-1 lead into the eighth. But he walked Rafael Furcal to lead off the inning, and Kansas City manager Tony Pena brought in Grimsley (3-3).
Chris Reitsma (3-1) pitched a scoreless eighth, and John Smoltz had a perfect ninth for his 10th save in 11 chances.
Angels 4, Pirates 2
In Pittsburgh, Chone Figgins' two-run double broke a tie in the ninth and Garret Anderson hit a two-run homer to lead Anaheim past Pittsburgh and extending the Pirates' losing streak to nine games.
Despite Craig Wilson's homer in the second, the Pirates dropped their 14th in 15 games and matched their longest losing streak since a nine-game slide from Sept. 9-17, 2000. They are a major league-worst 9-19 at home and are 1-15 with 14 consecutive losses to AL West teams in interleague play.
Scot Shields (5-0) pitched two innings for the victory despite allowing the tying run to score in the seventh. Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
Mets 7, Indians 2
In New York, Mike Piazza and Ty Wigginton had three hits apiece, while Cliff Floyd added two and Karim Garcia had a two-run homer in a 14-hit attack as New York downed Cleveland.
The offensive outburst came hours after Denny Walling was fired as hitting coach for the team with the second-lowest batting average in the major leagues. New York scored its most runs since May 21, just the 10th time in 63 games the Mets had that many in a game.
Steve Trachsel (6-5) allowed two runs and eight hits, walked one and struck out five in 6 2-3 innings.
Jason Davis (1-5) allowed seven runs and 11 hits in four innings for Cleveland.
Cardinals 8, Athletics 4
In St. Louis, pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson sparked a five-run seventh inning with a two-run go-ahead single, helping St. Louis end Oakland's eight-game winning streak.
Albert Pujols was 1-for-4 with two RBIs for the Cardinals in his first appearance at first base in eight games. Pujols has been hampered by a strained left hamstring.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa faced the team he led to four division championships and a World Series championship from 1986-95 for the first time since leaving for St. Louis in '96. This was the first regular-season meeting between teams who last met in the 1931 World Series.
Matt Morris (7-5) allowed four runs on six hits in seven innings. Jason Isringhausen got one out for his 14th save.
Chad Bradford (3-3) took the loss.
Tigers 10, Phillies 3
In Philadelphia, Jeremy Bonderman pitched one-hit ball over seven dominant innings and Carlos Guillen had a bases-loaded triple to lead Detroit past Philadelphia.
Bonderman (5-5) was crisp and in control, tying a career high with eight strikeouts and walking only two. He allowed his only hit in the fourth and won for the first time in five starts.
Ugueth Urbina gave up a homer in the ninth to Jim Thome to complete the two-hitter.
Brian Powell (0-1) was effective in his first major league start since last July 10 against Colorado. He gave up four runs and had a career-high eight strikeouts. He allowed seven hits, but five came in the first two innings.
Rockies 6, Red Sox 3
In Denver, Vinny Castilla homered and drove in two runs and Todd Helton also had two RBIs to help Joe Kennedy win for the first time in eight starts as Colorado beat Boston to end an eight-game losing streak.
Kennedy (5-4) gave up seven hits and three innings in five innings to win for the first time since beating Montreal on May 5. He had been 0-4 in his previous seven starts.
Shawn Chacon threw 31 pitches and faced the tying run in the ninth before finishing for his 11th save in 16 attempts.
Bronson Arroyo (2-5) worked the first six innings and gave up four runs, but remained winless in his last five starts.
Yankees 4, Diamondbacks 2
In Phoenix, Miguel Cairo singled in two runs and Jose Contreras improved to 3-0 in his last four starts for the Yankees as New York beat Arizona.
Gary Sheffield, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter each had three hits for the Yankees, who have won 11 of 13 -- and 17 of 20 -- to open a season-best 4-game lead over Boston in the NL East. One of Sheffield's hits was a solo home run off Mike Koplove in the ninth inning.
Contreras (4-2) allowed two runs on five hits in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out six, walked two and hit a batter. Mariano Rivera threw a perfect ninth inning for his 27th save, most in the majors.
Andy Green hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer for his first major league hit for Arizona. Brandon Webb (3-6) took the loss.
Dodgers 5, Orioles 1
In Los Angeles, Juan Encarnacion hit a three-run homer and Jose Lima pitched seven strong innings as Los Angeles downed Baltimore.
The interleague game was the first meeting between the teams at Dodger Stadium since the Orioles won the first two games of the 1966 World Series on their way to a sweep of Los Angeles.
Making his seventh major league start, Daniel Cabrera (3-3) gave up five runs on nine hits.
Yankees' right fielder Gary Sheffield moved into third place among American League outfielders in fan voting for next month's All-Star game in Houston.
Sheffield (693,248) moved past Boston's Johnny Damon (614,205) and into a possible starting spot in totals released Tuesday by the commissioner's office.
Sheffield's push into the top three puts the Yankees in line to start four players on July 13 at Minute Maid Park. First baseman Jason Giambi (748,011), third baseman Alex Rodriguez (1,141,827) and shortstop Derek Jeter (797,721) maintained leads at their positions.
There were no other changes in voting leaders. Rangers' second baseman Alfonso Soriano remained the top American League vote-getter with 1,413,944.
Detroit catcher Ivan Rodriguez (959,254) leads at catcher, and Anaheim's Vladimir Guerrero (1,250,459) and Boston's Manny Ramirez (1,152,444) hold strong leads in the outfield.
Voting runs through June 23 at most ballparks and June 30 on the Internet, and starters will be announced July 4.
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